In telecommunications networks, global Internet protocol traffic is increasing at a rate of forty to fifty percent per year. In order to retain subscribers, it is desirable for service providers to keep monthly charges to subscribers relatively unchanged. Keeping charges constant with increasing traffic requires a reduction in expenses. For example, with a forty percent increase in traffic, service providers must reduce capital expenses and operational expenses by forty to fifty percent per gigabyte per second per year to achieve relatively constant pricing.
One possible method for reducing capital and operational expenses is to use software defined networks (SDNs). SDNs can be used to manage flows, control switches, control network access, and track user location and motion. SDNs can also be used to efficiently use network components. For example, SDNs may be used to power off unused equipment during non-peak periods to conserve energy.
Some SDN models centralize the control of network elements, such as routers and switches, by removing intelligence from the routers and switches and placing that intelligence in a centralized location. One such effort to provide centralized control of routers and switches is the openflow architecture described in the Openflow Switch Specification, Version 1.1.0, Feb. 28, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and a copy of which is attached hereto. According to the Openflow Switch Specification, an openflow controller controls functions of openflow-enabled switches. Openflow has not been used to control telecommunications network elements. Accordingly, there exists a need for extending openflow into telecommunications networks to reduce operating and capital expenses and to make networks more scalable and more flexible.